Chapter 78: Lin Yan's Bold Move Revealed

"Teacher..."

Aokiji stood before Zephyr, hesitating as he spoke. If there was one person Aokiji least wanted to fight, it was undoubtedly Zephyr. After all, Zephyr was someone he had once deeply respected and was his teacher.

Similarly, Zephyr noticed Aokiji approaching. Upon seeing him, he slowly closed his eyes. Then, after a moment, Zephyr opened his eyes again and said in an unwavering tone, "Make your move, Kuzan!" He added, "As an enemy!"

Seeing Zephyr's determination, Aokiji wanted to say something, but he knew there was no turning back. Sighing, he replied, "Alright then!"

With that, the two of them began to fight. However, unlike the fierce battles between Green Bull and Akainu or Issho and Kizaru, Aokiji and Zephyr were merely going through the motions.

From then on, the three Navy Admirals fully joined the battlefield.

The battle at Marineford had reached a heated phase. The casualties on both sides were increasing exponentially. The intensity of the fight had taken its toll even on vice admirals and captains of the Whitebeard Pirates' affiliated crews.

A vice admiral, due to exhaustion, lost an arm. A captain of an affiliated crew, not skilled enough, had a sword stabbed into his abdomen by a navy soldier. The escalation of the battle led to both navy and pirates becoming bloodthirsty. In their eyes, there was only one thought: kill all the enemies blocking their path!

In such a frenzied clash, the navy, relying on their superior numbers, once again suppressed the Whitebeard Pirates' crew members. With the intervention and sweeping attacks of the Pacifistas, the casualties of the Whitebeard Pirates were clearly several times higher than those of the navy.

Seeing this, Sengoku couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The strength shown by the people of the 17th Division was truly surprising. But fortunately, in terms of top combat power, they were temporarily on par with the navy. However, in the clashes between the lower-ranked soldiers, the navy's advantage was still very obvious!

With hundreds of vice admirals, giant vice admirals, and over a hundred Pacifistas, plus countless masters of the Six Powers, the navy was still able to stand firm on the battlefield, preventing the Whitebeard Pirates from making any progress. As long as this trend continued, annihilating the Whitebeard Pirates was within reach!

Just as Sengoku was about to give the order to annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates, a piece of bad news reached his ears. A sentry watching from afar contacted Sengoku's Den Den Mushi, saying, "Fleet Admiral, there are three warships approaching the rear of the Whitebeard Pirates. Did you give this order?"

Three warships approaching? Sengoku had never given such an order. Looking up, he saw three warships suddenly appear on the distant sea, heading towards Marineford. The appearance of these three warships immediately caught the attention of both the Whitebeard Pirates and the navy.

Because of the close distance, the crew members at the rear of the Whitebeard Pirates felt a chill down their spines as they saw the warships approaching. The rear of the Whitebeard Pirates was not well-guarded. If the navy took advantage of this, the consequences would be unimaginable. Mistaking the approaching warships for navy vessels, the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates immediately turned their cannons, aiming at the three warships.

Just as the tension was about to explode and the cannons were about to fire, Jinbe stood up from the warships and shouted, "Stop!" When the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates saw Jinbe on the warships, they were stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but shout, "Jinbe? Why are you on the warships?"

Jinbe explained the situation. He was bringing prisoners to join the fight! The crew of the Whitebeard Pirates looked at the warships. Sure enough, on the warships, besides Jinbe, there was the former Shichibukai Crocodile, the Supernovas previously imprisoned by Admiral Kizaru, and tens of thousands of other prisoners! The sheer number was staggering.

This... Is this the prisoners that Lin Yan liberated from Impel Down?

No matter how powerful the Whitebeard Pirates were, they were still slightly inferior to the navy. In direct confrontations, they had never gained much advantage over the navy. But now, with the appearance of the prisoners and them joining the battle as allies of the Whitebeard Pirates, everyone was instantly invigorated.

Most members of the Whitebeard Pirates knew a bit about Lin Yan infiltrating the underwater prison. "Lin really brought the prisoners!" "Great, these prisoners number in the tens of thousands, which can greatly relieve our urgent needs." "With such a large group of powerful individuals helping, let's see how the navy can handle it!"

The news spread rapidly. Instantly, hope reignited in the eyes of everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates. Meanwhile, compared to the excitement of the Whitebeard Pirates, the reaction of the navy was much more intense.

"Why are those people wearing prison uniforms?" "Aren't those the uniforms from Impel Down?" "Why? Why are Impel Down's prisoners appearing in Marineford?"

The navy soldiers also frowned deeply. Prisoners appearing in the Marineford War was something they found very perplexing. Not just the navy, even Akainu and Kizaru, who were fighting Issho and Green Bull, showed surprise when they saw the prisoners landing in Marineford.

"Magellan!" On the execution platform, Sengoku clenched his fists, looking at the prisoners on the warships. Even he, who had always been calm, felt anger rising in his heart. He realized immediately that something must have gone wrong at Impel Down! If it was just an incident at Impel Down, it wouldn't have been a big deal for Sengoku.

The problem was these prisoners had arrived in Marineford and joined the battle as allies of the Whitebeard Pirates! They were clearly here to oppose the navy! Suddenly, Sengoku turned sharply, looking towards the center of the battlefield, at the direction of the Whitebeard Pirates' 17th Division Captain, Lin Yan.

From the very beginning, he hadn't seen any sign of Lin Yan. At first, he thought Whitebeard had left the only retreat to him. Now it seemed he was completely wrong. While the world's eyes were on Marineford, Lin Yan had quietly infiltrated Impel Down and released the prisoners. The prisoners, having been held for so long, harbored deep resentment towards the navy! Now all released, using the prisoners temporarily balanced the forces between them and the navy.

Sengoku looked towards Lin Yan's direction. This newly appointed captain of the Whitebeard Pirates far exceeded Sengoku's expectations! It was not hard to guess that in the future, he would be a formidable enemy for the navy!

Whitebeard, your luck is truly extraordinary! Just when the Whitebeard Pirates were about to be annihilated, you brought in such a capable and powerful division captain. I'm a bit envious!

Though regretting that Lin Yan didn't join the navy, Sengoku had to admit he greatly admired Lin Yan's abilities. And just as Sengoku was looking at Lin Yan with admiration, at that moment, Lin Yan also looked towards Sengoku. Their eyes met. Then Lin Yan grinned at Issho.

Seeing Lin Yan suddenly smiling, Sengoku squinted his eyes. This new captain of the Whitebeard Pirates had actually smiled at him!

In the central area of the battlefield, Lin Yan stretched his body: "Issho, Green Bull, and Zephyr have all started fighting. I can't fall behind either!" He looked towards Ace. The main task of the Whitebeard Pirates was to rescue Ace from the execution platform! Since that was the case, let's set a small goal: bring Ace back first!